English Newbie Needs Help

[Grace]

Hello McDougallers!

I only recently discovered the McDougall website and straight away bought and read the 12 Day Program. I'm 53,
very overweight (259 lbs/118 kg), and although I've been fortunate enough to have relatively good health so far, I know that diabetes, heart disease and so on could be just around the corner. I've tried every diet known to man and never found anything I could stick to for very long. So now I find myself in the odd position of wanting to start McDougalling, but feeling afraid that I won't be able to keep it up and it will become another failure. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome it?

I also wonder if I should try to start right now or wait until after Christmas - this seems like a bad time of year to make such a big change - or am I just prevaricating?

Finally, I would be grateful if anyone could give me some suggestions for packaged or canned foods available in Britain. I work and don't have much time to cook during the week, so some acceptable convenience foods would be a great help.

I've read several of the topics in the forum, and you are all very supportive of each other, so I do hope that with your help I can finally do it this time!

Grace

[Doris]

Grace,

Welcome! You have come to the right place. I can only speak for myself, but I think that I had tried all the diets (sure collected a lot of diet books) and did not succeed. So when I started McDougalling, I was afraid that I wouldn't stay on the plan. My track record wasn't good and my dh just smiled at me. I'm sure he was very skeptical about the whole thing, but at least I was not spending a fortune on the diet. As a matter of fact, I was saving money. McDougall foods are cheap (all those potatoes, beans, greens). I read the 12 Day Program, and re read it. I started preparing some of the recipes (the ones that I already had most of the ingredients). It seemed to work. The one thing that helped me the most and continues to help me to stay on program is this very supportive and inspirational board.

About starting at this time of year. It will be difficult. Just try the best that you can. You may not be 100% McDougall, but I doubt if a lot of us are at this time of the year.

I wish you the best,
Doris

[Clary]

Do any of the "Old Timers" here at the McDougall board have a link to or a copy of "Kwag's List" to share with Grace? I remember the first time I read that at the old board and how fun and motivating it was for so many! I tried to search for the list both here and at VegSource, but no luck.

--and Welcome, Grace. This is a Good Place to be.

[Grace]

Hi Doris and Clary, and thank you for your welcome and advice. I'll be interested to see 'Kwag's List' if anyone has it - no idea what it is, of course, but it sounds good!

After my first post I went back to the 12 Day Program book and reread some parts, which helped me decide that I definitely will start the McDougall programme as soon as possible - Christmas or not. I have a work Christmas lunch to attend on 21 December, so McDougall Day One will be 22 December, and I'll keep it simple to start with. I'm really glad I found this website as I think it will keep me encouraged and positive.

Thanks to all the McDougallers out there!

Grace

[veggiecat]

Seeds of Change...wish they were here!Got them in Waitrose...ready to eat in envelope packs.Lots of Veg groups in England can probably give you lists.Good luck!

[serenity]

Seeds of Change...wish they were here!Got them in Waitrose...ready to eat in envelope packs.

Well, wish no more. They are a U.S. farm located in New Mexico. I find many of their products at Whole Foods.

Here is a link with a store locator. Maybe something near you.

http://www.seedsofchangefoods.com/about_us.aspx

[Clary]

.... So now I find myself in the odd position of wanting to start McDougalling, but feeling afraid that I won't be able to keep it up and it will become another failure. Has anyone else experienced this? How did you overcome it?....Grace

Thanks to some good detective work by Ise locating this post from almost 6 yrs. ago (below) in an archives, we can share it with you. It is one of the first things I read when I came to the McDougall board several years ago, and answered the same question for me that you asked above:

Has anyone else experienced this?

I hope Kwag's contribution helps you know you have come to a "familiar" place, with people who understand your question AND your fears and feelings. This post used to be linked permanently at the home page of the "old" McDougall Board. Enjoy:
-----------------------------------------

From: kwag (spider-wl064.proxy.aol.com)
Subject: And the magic number is...
Date: April 10, 2002 at 5:25 pm PST

I've noticed a lot of new people visiting the board within the last couple of weeks. Of course they have questions, and many of them seem to have the idea that this will just be another in a string of failed dieting attempts. This got me to thinking how this advice is often given: this is not a diet--it's a new way of eating--a lifestyle change. And it made me realize that it's really true--I don't consider this a weird diet anymore--it's simply the way I eat--and I like it. How did this happen? I'm not sure, but I mentioned the other day how I had tried 74 diets in the past--and ended up diabetic and worse off than ever...

1. Roman Meal Diet...this was the one that started it all--cottage cheese and canned peaches with Roman Meal bread--yum.
2. Grapefruit Diet...my sister, Lynn, lost over a hundred pounds on this one--if it was good enough for Lynn, it was good enough for me.
3. Atkins...back in the 70's--my mom made the Atkins bread, oh my!
4. AYDS...these were tasty--I could eat almost an entire box in one sitting.
5. Bulimia...I lost a lot of weight but looked and felt like death.
6. Grilled cheese sandwich, granola bar, and Cherry Hi-C Plan--all I ate for an entire year--that's nutrition!
7. Cambridge Diet...just typing this makes me gag.
8. Beverly Hills Diet...I loved dessert day!
9. TUMS Diet...I waited anxiously for six weeks for this to arrive via the post--six weeks I could've been eating TUMS to dissolve fat...
10. Dexatrim...this was in desperation before my wedding day--the dress fit, but I fainted before the ceremony.
11. Lynn's Diet Dr. Diet...of course she got fat again after the unfortunate grapefruit diet--I called this one: The I Feel Like Chicken Tonight Diet.
12. I Can't Remember the Name of this One...but it was the first and last time I ever ate lamb chops.
13. Good Housekeeping Diet...one of many count and measure exchange plans...that I totally sucked at and felt incredibly deprived on even though they let me have six Vanilla Wafers as a bread.
14. Rotation Diet...this is a tie with the Cambridge Diet as the worst ever--I hated Martin Katahn!
15. Diabetic Association Diet...that little exchange list was attached to my fridge with a pig magnet.
16. Mayo Clinic Diet...all I remember about this is hot dogs and bananas.
17. Slim Fast...this was back when you had to make the shakes yourself using milk--they didn't taste all that swell.
18. Cabbage Soup Diet...I wasn't fond of cabbage to begin with, so this wasn't a good choice for me.
19. Redbook Diet...another exchange plan, but I liked how they had the menus all mapped out for me--that way I didn't have to figure out the exchanges by myself.
20. Counting Calories...I'm not good at math.
21. Counting Carbohydrates...see above.
22. Counting Fat Grams...ditto.
23. Weight Watchers...I paid to join and went to one meeting.
24. Eating Awareness Training...E.A.T.--get it?!
25. Positive Affirmations...eat whatever you want but write affirmations like: "I'm thin, energetic, and healthy" until you have terminal writer's cramp.
26. "Lose 20 Pounds Before Bikini Season"...magazines lie, and I hadn't worn a bikini since I was four years old anyway.
27. Scarsdale Diet...he got murdered, remember?
28. Richard Simmons Deal-a-Meal...the first thing I ever ordered from an infomercial...Richard's tears just broke me down.
29. Pritkin Diet...rhymes with: Not again...
30. Eat as Little as Possible & Exercise as Much as Possible...this was a challenge.
31. Stormie O'Martian Diet...I kinda liked this one--Stormie was so gentle and understanding.
32. Fit or Fat...three guesses which one I was.
33. Eat Three Meals a Day & Exercise...I actually thought this one was gonna work when I lost 12 pounds in the first month.
34. Eat Right 4 Your Type...I'm an A!
35. Five Day Miracle Diet...no miracles for me.
36. Rice Diet Report Diet...not for the weak willed!
37. STOP THE INSANITY...and please STOP YELLING at me.
38. Protein Power...my heart felt like a large rock in my chest on this one.
39. Jenny Craig...I signed up when my husband was out of town--when he got back he went up there and got our money back by telling them I was mentally unstable.
40. Oprah's Make the Connection...I guess I never really connected.
41. Optifast...the only diet I ever went to a Dr. for--and it was gross and lasted less than two days.
42. "Lose 10 Pounds By Thanksgiving"...gain it all back on Thanksgiving Day.
43. Fasting...not so bad, actually, after you get over the initial hunger...but it became obvious that I couldn't do it for the long term...duh.
44. 25 Ways to Lose 10 Pounds...but I needed to lose 6 times 10.
45. Sommersizing...Suzanne meets Judy Mazel of Beverly Hills.
46. Sugar Busters...another heavy hearted plan.
47. Walk Yourself Thin...I was sad when this didn't work, but it did help me by saying, "It's gonna take a year for me to get to my ideal body weight" every single day--it was always gonna take a year.
48. Seventh Day Adventist Diet...I learned about haystacks on this one.
49. Thin Within...yeah, right.
50. The Setpoint Diet...nice little theory--it's not your fault.
51. Marilu Henner...she has a nice smile, doesn't she?
52. The Baby Food Diet...ohmigosh--this was one I thought up myself--I thought if I could just go back to the beginning, I could rid myself of my poor eating habits. Let me just say, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME--baby food is disgusting--except the apricots are pretty good.
53. Thin for Life...well, maybe not LIFE.
54. Eat what you want...stop at 4:00 PM...this made the nights seem incredibly long.
55. Subliminal Message Tapes...do NOT listen to these while driving.
56. Great American Slim Down...made me feel kind of un-American.
57. Eat One Meal a Day...better choose wisely on this one.
58. The Lean Cuisine Diet...at least I didn't have to cook.
59. Food Combining...people said this wasn't scientific.
60. Don't Eat Sweets...I didn't lose weight, but I won a Jeep by betting my husband I could go a year without eating sweets...
61. Eat Yourself Slim...I don't think so.
62. The Detox Diet...I'd rather be toxic, thanks.
63. Awaken the Diet Within...shhh...let it sleep.
64. Joanna Lund's Healthy Exchanges...I wondered what was so healthy about eating stuff so full of chemicals--the woman lived on Sugar Free Jell-O Pudding and Cool Whip.
65. Eat three meals a day at the same time each day with absolutely nothing in between...I'm way too rebellious to do this.
66. Rawwing it...I felt strangely hollow both physically and emotionally the 72 hours I did this.
67. Carbohydrate Addicts Diet...I discovered the Carbohydrate Addicts chat room...I loved chatting, but I hated the diet.
68. Weigh Down...another diet that wanted me to take responsibility and required too much thinking.
69. First Place...they called it a LIVE-it not a DIE-it...oh, puhlease!
70. Picture Perfect Weightloss...nobody's perfect.
71. Fit for Life...this was my fave.
72. Eat More Weigh Less with Dr. Ornish...hmmm.
73. Turn Off the Fat Genes with Dr. Barnard...you're getting warmer.
74. 12 Days to Dynamic Health with Dr. McDougall...BINGO!

So, I can understand that there are people who have tried so many wacky things in the name of weight loss (even though they'll tell you they're mainly concerned with their health...). And I know it's really really scary to start something new because you think it will just prove you're a failure at this dieting stuff...one more time. I guess the main thing I want to say is this: you really do have to figure out something you like well enough to be able to do it forever more. And forever is just one day at a time.

[Berry]

thank you for kwags list.

i laughed, i cried, i laughed.

http://web.archive.org/web/200206070746 ... 89565.html